The Red Rover- Robinson (ME) 1928 Barry G b
[From Barry Eckstorm, Smythe; British Ballads from Maine, 1929. Extensive notes which I assume are mainly from Barry may be found US and Canada versions page. This version probably dates back before 1900.
R. Matteson 2015]
G b. "The Red Rover." Fragment recalled by Mrs. Sarah (Robinson) Black, Southwest Harbor, September, 1928, when she gave us the air sung by her mother, Mrs. Abby Kelley. Melody recorded by Mr. George Herzog.
1. He called his servants one by one,
He called them by two and by three.
2. "Arise, arise, put on your clothes
As quick as ever you can,
It won't be said of old Scotland
That I fight with a naked man."
3. "And you shall have the very first blow,
. . . .
. . . . .
The chief interest of this fragment is proving that the name of "Red Rover" was not a childish corruption of Mr. Whitmore's, but lay further back in the traditional history of the song. Other texts in which this name is found, may yet be recorded. We should suspect a common origin for all texts that have it.